But that grin was cocky.
It was also hot as fuck.
Which would be damned annoying if he hadn’t earned it.
“This clit?” he said at last as his thumb circled her swollen flesh.
Elizabeth nodded fiercely. “Yes.”
“What do you want me to do with it?”
What she wanted involved him dropping to his knees, hiking her leg over his shoulder, and putting that suddenly smart mouth of his to good use.
But that was too much. Too personal. Even more than outright fucking would have been. It was one thing to interlock bodies—it was another thing altogether to put one’s mouth south of the border.
“Keep doing that,” she said instead, banishing the image. “The circling. That’s good.”
“Yeah?” Will kissed her forehead, which was lined with sweat. His thumb continued its lap around her clitoris, aided with the hint of light pressure but not much more. “What else?”
“Uhh…really, really good?”
He chuckled, and dammit, even that was sexy.
“No, what else do you want me to do?”
Elizabeth met his eyes and nearly bit her tongue to keep from whimpering. What she really wanted him to do was keep looking at her like that.
Except that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with Will, and that terrified her.
“Press down.”
Will arched an eyebrow.
“On—on my clit. Don’t rub. Just press—”
He did and that was it. She came apart. Elizabeth threw her head back, her pussy clenching around his fingers as waves of pure white ecstasy scored through her. One of those glorious orgasms that seemed to have no beginning or end, just hit after hit of fucking awesome until the body couldn’t stand it anymore. It stole the strength from her legs and left every inch of her absolutely humming and oh god, she wanted to do that again. Again and again until she forgot how words worked.
As though from a great distance, she heard him saying her name, heard him telling her things. About her. About how she felt. About what he wanted to do to her.
Seconds, minutes, centuries later, when Elizabeth felt her feet make contact with terra firma again, she found herself resting against Will’s chest, her body upright only by the grace of his grip on her.
It was good of him to hold her up, seeing as her legs were still jelly.
The fog surrounding her head started dissipating at once, and the things her rational brain had tried to warn her against were suddenly clear again. Her paradigm shifted back where it needed to be, bringing with it exactly what she’d expected.
The knowledge that this had been a mistake.
Well, to be fair, she’d known that much the entire time. It just hadn’t been all that important while in the heat of the moment.
The larger knowledge that she had crossed her personal Rubicon.
Slowly, Elizabeth raised her head, not wanting to meet Will’s gaze but knowing she needed to all the same. No matter how she felt about this now, she owed him the courtesy of acknowledging his presence. After all, she’d gotten a happy from the encounter, which—as she was reminded by his persistent erection—was more than she could say for him.
That hardly seemed fair.
No, it wasn’t fair. At all.
Will seemed to relax when she looked at him. “That was beautiful,” he said in a dopey sincere voice that was at such contrast with the cocky smirk from before she could hardly believe both came from the same guy.
Except she could believe it because both things fit.
“Umm…” She swallowed and looked away, not sure what to say now.
Thank you for the orgasm. Now please leave.
By Wickham’s account, that much would serve Will right. The thought alone gave Elizabeth a somewhat twisted sense of satisfaction. But that sensation didn’t last, namely because she wasn’t the sort of person to receive without giving. And it’d be cruel. While she might not always succeed, she usually went to great lengths to ensure she wasn’t cruel.
Decision made. Elizabeth met his gaze again before slowly, deliberately, sliding a hand between them and over the outline of his thick cock.
And took definite pleasure in watching his expression dissolve as he released a low moan. The feel of him against her palm was addictive. She wanted to see him. Feel him in her hand. Wanted to watch his face as she pulled on his dick—see if those delicious sounds he made got any better.
She had just trailed her fingers up his zipper when the undeniable sound of a door opening downstairs echoed through the building.
Damn.
Will held his breath. She worried her lower lip between her teeth. They didn’t need to wait long to get their answer before the floor below populated with loud voices.
And one of them belonged to her roommate. It was a little louder than she was used to hearing Jane speak—and the words were somewhat slurred—but there was no denying it was her.
It took about five seconds for Jane to announce she was going to bed.
Elizabeth met Will’s gaze again. There was resistance there, but he wasn’t going to push. Instead, he offered a soft smile and kissed her before she could protest.
“Good night, Elizabeth,” he whispered against her lips.
Elizabeth licked her lips, tasting him there, and glanced down to his still-prominent erection. “Try not to scare anyone with that thing.”
Will chuckled, making her shiver.
“I’ll do my best,” he replied. He released her and put some space between their bodies. She hadn’t realized how cold the air was. At the door, he paused and turned to her again. “See you Monday.”
There was promise in those words.
And it occurred to her as he left—as she listened to him exchange pleasantries with a somewhat stunned Jane in the hall—that she had probably just dug herself into something that she wouldn’t be able to escape easily.
“Shit.”
14
Will groaned and rolled over for the fifth time in ten minutes.
It was no use. He couldn’t stop replaying the way Elizabeth had come apart around his fingers. Hell, he didn’t want to stop replaying it. It had been the single most significant sexual encounter he’d ever experienced, which in itself was rather alarming since he wasn’t sure where they stood.
Damn, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
It was times like these Will felt the absence of his parents most profoundly. There wasn’t anyone in his world equipped to help him see things from beyond his own perspective. Charlie was the best friend a guy could have, but he reserved his serious moments for special occasions, and didn’t have enough of a filter to trust with confidential information. It had taken Will several years to work out that Charlie wasn’t callous—he just didn’t process things like other people. His brain didn’t give off warnings whenever anyone brought up something potentially sensitive, and he’d end up spewing everything he knew on a given subject before it occurred to him to hold his tongue. In fact, the only thing Charlie had ever taken seriously was the whole incident between Georgiana and Wickham.
As a confidant, Georgiana herself wasn’t much above Charlie. She was still too young, and though perhaps not as romantic as she’d once been, romantic enough that she’d try to fix via oversimplification. Plus the last thing Will wanted to do right now was trouble her with his problems. Especially since he wasn’t sure anymore if he even had a problem.
He certainly hadn’t had a problem earlier. Elizabeth attacking his mouth with her own. Her breasts pressed against him. Her pussy around his fingers. Her clit under his thumb. Her eyes glossy and on him—watching him as she trembled and tightened and drenched his hand.
Will groaned into his pillow. He’d stroked himself to orgasm twice since arriving back at Netherfield Heights, but every time his brain dragged him back to Elizabeth’s room, his cock twitched with interest. No other woman had ever done this to him—shoved him away before dragging him
close. He’d never wanted a woman like this, either, and even acknowledging that was terrifying.
The fact that he didn’t know what tonight had meant to her left him unsettled.
Life would have been a thousand times easier if he’d been able to stick to his own damn plan. Go back to school. Get the diploma. Walk into Darcy Media with the degree his father had been so intent he receive, as someone who knew what the hell he was doing, rather than the silver-spooned orphan whose name happened to be on the building. Relationships beyond those with his professors and close friends had not been in the brochure. The kind of relationship he wanted required dedication and time to do right, and those were two things he had in short supply, especially considering he’d started years after he should have.
Also, he’d be a piss poor role model for Georgiana if he couldn’t keep his hands to himself.
Will grumbled into his pillow before rolling over again.
There was only one thing he knew for certain at the present—and that was that he couldn’t wait for Monday to arrive.
* * *
Will came to slowly the next morning, only to find it wasn’t morning at all. Well, not early morning. For the first time in longer than he could remember, he’d slept past ten, and every inch of his body felt it. Seemed a cheat, really, to get extra sleep but feel extra tired as a result.
In a concerted effort to distract his mind from thoughts of Elizabeth, Will got busy with his typical routine. A long shower—happy ending included—later, he parked himself at his desk and cracked open one of the books he’d intended to dive in to the night before. There was at least half a day’s reading to do before Monday’s first class. Trouble was, every time he set to focus on the words, his mind would hijack his concentration and take him back to Elizabeth’s room. Remind him of the sounds she’d made. How she smelled. The way she’d looked at him when her pussy had tightened and—
Will growled and slammed the book closed.
This was ridiculous. The whole damn point of going over to Longbourn had been to talk about whatever was happening between them for a slew of reasons, not the least of which his concentration was shot to hell. While he wouldn’t trade those stolen moments for anything, the fact that they existed at all had done nothing but dig the hole he’d made for himself a little deeper.
A long sigh rode off his lips. Will slumped over, elbows on his desk, his fingers tunneling through his hair along his scalp. Though midterms had come and gone, he had to start thinking about finals, and somehow felt like he’d lost more knowledge in the time he’d been here than he’d gained.
Yet he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
All right, so studying was out of the question for the moment. Maybe that was his fault. His brain typically required at least a modest dose of caffeine before it felt up to the challenge of performing even the most mundane tasks.
Or maybe he was just that pathetic.
His phone began to vibrate, and Will’s pulse spiked. It was Elizabeth. It had to be.
But it wasn’t. It was his sister.
“Georgie,” he answered, plastering on a smile. He didn’t know why. It just seemed easier to fake enthusiasm if there was a smile involved.
“Don’t call me that,” she replied right on cue. “How’s my favorite brother doing?”
If only her favorite brother knew how to answer that question…
“Good. Really good.”
There was a pause, then a long sigh rattled through the receiver.
“What’s wrong, Will?”
“Nothing.”
“You know you’re lousy at keeping things from me. Wanna try again with honesty this time?”
Will cursed inwardly. “I’m fine. Everything here is fine. How are you doing?”
“You sound like you’re reading a script, I hope you know.”
“What do you want me to say? Getting back into the swing of all things academic has been a breeze? It’s taken a few weeks, but I’m starting to feel more grounded.”
That much at least was true. He just happened to be fantastically ungrounded everywhere else.
“Have you met people? Had fun? Done stupid shit—”
He cleared his throat and grinned when she groaned in response. He’d resigned himself to the fact that she wasn’t going to censor herself around him a long time ago—it was the only bad habit left over from the Wickham incident, and she had never indicated a desire to cut profanity out of her vocabulary, even when he’d told her those words were not used by respectable ladies. She’d rolled her eyes and given him the finger.
That sounded now like something Elizabeth would do.
“Jesus Christ, Will,” Georgiana said, “you need to get a life. How else do you think you’re gonna get laid this semester?”
That comment would have earned a genuine spit-take if he’d been drinking anything. “Dammit, Georgie—”
“I told you not to call me that.”
“Well, then don’t say things like…like what you just said.”
“About you getting laid?” She laughed. “Dude, you need to get laid. You are wound more tightly than any ten people I know.”
“That is not the point.”
“I think it is the point. And since the cause of your tragic affliction happens to be yours truly, I think it’s my job to make sure you do everything you can to have some freaking fun every now and again.”
“You are not the cause of any affliction, tragic or otherwise.”
“We both know that’s not true.”
Will winced and tunneled the fingers of his free hand through his hair. While he knew better than to be surprised, he hated that Georgiana still felt like this. The fallout from what had happened with Wickham had been intense and painful, and once she’d seen how badly it had affected him, she’d had a mental breakdown. The guilt of knowing she’d caused him pain combined with the pain she herself had suffered had shoved her dangerously close to an edge that there was no coming back from. Time and therapy had helped, but the residual guilt had yet to fade completely. According to what her therapist had shared with him, it might never.
That had been another reason he’d agreed to go back to school this year rather than next—to alleviate Georgianna’s guilt. She’d sworn on a stack of Harry Potter books—her holy scripture—that she would be fine spending her evenings alone, so long as their housekeeper was there during the day. Had he dragged his feet, he feared the progress she had made might have been undone.
Georgiana breathed a soft sigh. “I was calling to see how you were doing. I miss you, assface.”
Will couldn’t help but grin at that. Assface was one of Elizabeth’s go-to insults, he’d noticed. That Georgiana favored it as well made him oddly…proud. Which he’d never tell her, or else she’d never take his campaign to get her to stop swearing seriously. “I miss you too. Is everything going all right there?”
“Oh, sure. Everything here’s peachy keen.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You know I’m not the only one who’s no good at lying. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
A blip of panic made his pulse spike. “Georgie, you need to tell me if something—”
“Nothing’s wrong, I promise. It’s just big and lonely here. And no, that’s not me hinting to see if you’ll drop out and come home,” she said before he could speak. “If you do, I’m going to sell your 1977 Jawa collectible on eBay.”
Will inhaled sharply. “You wouldn’t.”
“Just try me.”
“That thing is worth nearly twenty thousand dollars.”
“Is it really that much? Well, my wardrobe is going to get a complete makeover.” She laughed her my-big-brother-is-a-nerd laugh, which was sometimes interchangeable with her how-evil-can-I-be laugh. The answer to that question was very.
“Georgiana—”
“Why in god’s name is this piece of plastic worth twenty G’s?”
“Because it’s in the package and has the vinyl
cape. They didn’t make too many of that one.” And it had been damn near impossible to track down. The guy who had parted ways with it hadn’t known what it was worth. “Do you… You’re holding it right now, aren’t you?”
“No,” Georgiana replied coyly. “But I am in your room. Bet the key to that case is in your nightstand.” A pause. “You know, where most normal guys keep their condoms.”
Will experienced a rush of panic that only siblings could truly appreciate. The panic that came with the knowledge that while his sister likely wouldn’t do anything to harm his things, he still didn’t like the thought of her standing close to them. “Go into my room often?”
“No. Your room’s boring.”
“Then turn around and walk out.”
“As soon as you promise that you’re not going to panic about me admitting I’m a bit lonely and throw away your education for me again.”
“I didn’t throw anything away. I’m here, aren’t I?”
“And that is where you’ll stay, else the Jawa gets it.”
“I know you better than that.”
“This is how badly I want you to not drop everything and come home. I am willing to risk your wrath. Classes are good. Grades are good. Meds are good. It’s just…easy to feel like you’re all alone in the universe out here.”
“Well, there’s nothing stopping you from meeting new people.”
“Oh yes there is. The people I’d want to hang out with, at least. A booming metropolis Derbyshire ain’t. And our neighbors have long memories.” Another thick pause filled the line before Georgiana cleared her throat. “All that to say, I miss my big bro.”
An ache, large and horrible, manifested in his chest. “I miss you too, Georgie.”
“Duh,” she replied. “Good news? Thanksgiving break will be here before you know it. And we can drive each other so crazy that you’ll practically run screaming back to campus. Well, until Christmas.”
A Higher Education Page 16